Disabled benefit claimaints picketed the Chelmsford offices of ATOS, the Paralympic sponsors carrying out assessments on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

The DWP uses the services of ATOS assessors to weed out scroungers and the work shy who pretend they are disabled and ill to fiddle benefits.

Protestor Lynn Excell, from Great Leighs, wept as she told of the death of her beloved brother, Richard Excell, who suffered from Asperger's Syndrome, a few days after an assessement.

She said the interview raised his blood pressure leading to his death five days after she took him "shaking" with fear to be assessed by ATOS.

It was not until after his death that she received an ATOS letter saying her brother was fit to work.

The noisy but peacful protest outside Gemini Centre, New London Road, Chelmsford, is part of a nationwide day of action.

A Chelmsford woman confined to a wheelchair said: "ATOS carry out the 'processing' of the sick and disabled on behalf of the DWP in order to strip them of their disability benefit.

"The 'medicals' are corrupt, and even very sick people with heart failure, terminal cancer and with severe mental health conditions are found 'fit for work'."

She claimed that during 11 months between Jan & Nov 2011 10,600 disabled people died within 6 weeks of being found 'fit for work' by ATOS

"Some are suicides, some are exaccerbations of their conditions due to the stress of losing their only income, losing their homes etc.

"We have been unable to get the stats for 2012 and 2013 because Iain Duncan Smith at the DWP is refusing to release the continuing death toll figures. The demo will be nationwide at many Atos centres across the countgry.".

The protests across the country will be spearheaded by disabled activists who have had to bear the brunt of the cuts made by the government of millionaires.

A key demand of these protesters is that the government no longer uses ATOS to preform these assessments.

In a statement, Atos said: "We fully respect people's right to peaceful protest and we understand this is a highly emotive issue.

"We do not make decisions on people's benefit entitlement or on welfare policy but we will continue to make sure that service that we provide is as highly professional and compassionate as it can be.

"We do this through a constant programme of training and education for our staff, a rigorous recruitment process for healthcare professionals and through continual work with the government, disability rights groups, healthcare professionals and those going through the process on the ground."